Considering a move...planning a trip

Look on a site like VRBO for an economical apartment type accommodation. Then you will experience shopping at the grocery stores, driving around the island and some of our daily travails.
Definitely visit as many of the schools as you are interested in for your child, some of them will even offer a chance for your child to spend time there. Have some resumes printed and visit any prospective employers to see what is available, try and get to see as many rentals as possible for an indication of what different areas and properties are like. One of the biggest concerns should be the proximity of school, work and home - but while you are here you will get an idea of future travel times between them on a daily basis - it makes a huge difference in practical living.
Your choice of which island is probably more dependent on the job situation than other factors.
And if you are bringing the young one take her to the beach for an hour or so each day so she falls in love with island life early!

You can also check www.flipkey.com and airbandb.com for weekly rentals. Sept. is our slowest season so rentals are much more affordable than during the winter months. There is way less tourism happening on our islands during this period as well and some businesses close for vacation or renovations, especially restaurants, during Sept.

Sept. is traditionally the height of hurricane season, tho in latter years, we've seen more activity in October so you may wish to buy travel insurance. Many short term rentals do not wish to have the liability of having guests in residence in the event of an approaching hurricane so best to check with owner regarding their policy.

You can take a seaplane or regular small aircraft to get between
STT and STX. There's a regular ferry and a car ferry to explore STJ.

Some car rental agencies don't let you take their cars on barge to STJ so check with them about this policy while renting a car. You will need one to explore and get around. Hertz doesn't. Budget and Dependable Car Rental do. Not sure of others.

You may find it just as expensive here to live as in Colorado.
Check your options for schools for your child while here.
That can be expensive, too.
Good luck, have fun.

If 'expensive' is a concern you may not need to take the time during your short visit exploring the possibility of living on St John.

I'm not sure what a tourist trap is. The islands are so small everybody goes to the same places. There are vacation rentals in many residential neighborhoods, too, so visitors are found in all but the poorest neighborhoods.

Someone else from Colorado had been posting frequently and was supposedly here two weeks ago for a Pre-Move Visit, but he hasn't posted since the day before he left. Check for postings under screen name "denvertired." He posted some research on grocery price comparisons.

i am a little concerned by your using the term expensive when describing colorado. please read this message board specifically concerning the cost of living here.

Hi so i am moving in june from colorado to stt. After all my research and pmv and the rent i will be paying for the place ive already locked down is going to be almost identical as fort collins as well as groceries. The only thing that is going to be more expensive is electricity. Its just me moving though and i live on the cheaper side of most things. Feel free to contact me i move june 16th

Thank you all for the advice. I don't mind it being expensive as long as I am enjoying my surroundings! In Colorado over the past 2 years or so, rent has skyrocketed and the snow is really getting to us. We don't enjoy ANY snow sports. By "tourist trap" I meant I wanted to
experience places where the locals are on a day to day basis so we can get a feel for what it would be like for us.

Locals go to work, church, bank, phone co, utility co, grocery shopping, post office, school events, kids' events, Rotary, etc. It varies based on your situation. No quick and easy answer for everybody.

Your landlord may have a big impact on your transition. Services and personalities vary widely. If rent includes utilities, no need to deal with power company. Some landlords provide cable and or WiFi with rent. If so, no need to worry about those. Too many variables.